For the first time since its foundation in 1750 in a London pub, and about 60 years since it conceded, pretty much on the steps of the high court, that women should be allowed to hold a full trainer’s licence, the Jockey Club is apparently poised to appoint its first female senior steward when it holds elections later this month.
Sky News reported last week that Dido Harding, aka Baroness Harding of Winscombe, is expected to succeed Sandy Dudgeon, the current senior steward, from July 2024. Given that the Jockey Club was exclusively male for well over 200 years, before electing three women to its ranks in 1977, it could be seen as a sign that the pace of change at the Rooms in Newmarket is accelerating.
